The bowling alley Tricia Asselin loved to frequent with friends was where she was shot and killed Wednesday night.
LEWISTON, Maine — As friends and family remember Tricia Asselin, a reoccurring theme is her selflessness.
“She doesn’t sleep at night. She worries about everybody more than herself, to a fault. As a fellow empath, her and I and my mother, we grew quite a close bond over the eight years that we knew her,” Chad Hopkins, owner of Apple Valley Golf Course, where Trisha worked and golfed, told NEWS CENTER Maine. “I mean you name it, if she wasn’t physically at a job doing the job, she will move things around and do whatever she could to help with anything at Apple Valley.”
Tricia, who went by Trish among many other nicknames, was out bowling at Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley, formerly Sparetime Recreation, on Wednesday night with friends from Apple Valley. It was something they did every week, but this time gunfire broke out. While many were able to escape, Trish was shot and killed.
“There are no words to express the sadness of losing Tricia Asselin,” friend Bob Tibbetts said in a social media post. “She was a staple at Apple Valley and the bowling alley. She was so kind and caring and put others ahead of herself.”
Trish also worked at the golf course and the bowling alley. Hopkins said she sometimes held as many as three jobs at a time in addition to raising her son as a single mother.
“Huge heart. Always wanting to be involved.,” he remembered. “Played in tournaments, played in fundraisers. Ran, cooked. Quite often she’d be there in the morning to help me get the tournament out. She might go play in the tournament. Then the second the tournament’s done she’d be back in there working. That’s just who she was.”
The 53-year-old was an avid fundraiser, constantly helping people raise money for various causes. That was something she did for Brandon Mullen, a friend of hers who managed to escape the shooting.
“She has touched so many people with her kindness, passion for her causes, and her love of golf and helping people,” friend Celeste Morin wrote in a social media post.
The suspected shooter was found dead Friday night.
Asselin had been in the process of raising money for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Series, an annual 60-mile walk she did to raise money for breast cancer.
“She buys herself some new sneakers every year for the walk,” Hopkins said. “She talks about it every day, gets super excited about it. Now she’s not going to be able to go on that walk.”
Still, friends and family are continuing to seek donations to her fundraising page in honor of her love for the event and the cause. People interested in donating can click here.
The blurb Trish wrote on her fundraising page speaks to her character:
“October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month! What if it was you? You that heard the words you have Breast Cancer. Some people say they don’t donate to causes and that’s okay. But what if it was you, your mom, your sister, your wife or daughter. I hope that it won’t be anyone anymore but we all know that isn’t realistic. Help me help find a cure. Please consider donating and [if] you can’t donate, I would appreciate a share!”
Hopkins said it’s going to hurt even more when reality really sets in.
“I’m more in disbelief right now, but it will definitely hit home when we’re at the bowling alley and she’s not there,” he said. “That’s going to be a hard one.”
